Friday, July 29, 2011

Why should I want to be rich, when You were poor? Why should I desire to be famous and powerful? Why should I cherish in my heart a hope that devours me—the hope for perfect happiness in this life—when such hope, doomed to frustration, is nothing but despair? My hope is in what the eye has never seen. Therefore, let me not trust in visible rewards. My hope is in what the heart cannot feel. Therefore let me not trust in the feelings of my heart. My hope is in what the hand has never touched. Do not let me trust what I can grasp between my fingers. Death will loosen my grasp and my vain hope will be gone.

A Lesson:

We must devote ourselves with generosity and integrity to the real values: there is no time for falsity and compromise. But on the other hand we do not have to be greatly successful or even well known. It is enough for our integrity to be known to God. What we do that is pure in His sight will avail for the liberty, the enlightenment, and the salvation of His children everywhere.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

"You have been tough, but we will smash your head. Signed, Your friend Satan". That was one of several threatening messages sent to Father Hernán García Pardo, parish priest of San Michele, in Ronta [Mugello region of the Province of Florence, Tuscany]. His fault [was] that of celebrating the Latin Mass, liberalized by Benedict XVI in September 2007.

San Michele, Ronta

The warnings, which had been recurrent for some time, had not made the priest, who despite everything has continued to say Mass according to the ancient rite, give up. The last chapter [took place] last Wednesday, when he was beaten up by a 'faithful' in the town's rectory in the presence of his aged mother. The beating led to bruising on his back; having been sent to the emergency room of Borgo San Lorenzo, he was medicated.

The news item was published today in the Giornale della Toscana; the accusations made against Father Hernán are those of scattering the flock; above all, he is not forgiven for distributing communion in the mouth [to the] kneeling [faithful], instead of on the hand, in the same manner as Benedict XVI. For others, the Italian-Argentine priest has only brought back some sacred austerity to the parish, excluding guitars from the functions and bringing back to within the walls of the church the ancient Gregorian chant.

“The reason I perform abortions is because I’m a Christian...Personally, I believe in the strength, intellect and fortitude of women. When a woman says a fetus is a person, I think it is one. I believe the woman empowers the fetus.” (Dr. Richard Grossman, from Doc at Catholic hospital: ‘I perform abortions because I’m a Christian’ by Patrick B. Craine. Click here to read the entire article at LifeSiteNews.com.)

I didn't realize that being "A Christian" meant "believing in the fortitude of women." I thought it meant believing in and obeying Jesus Christ and the Church he founded.

And the way of death is this: First of all it is evil and accursed: murders, adultery, lust, fornication, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, witchcrafts, rape, false witness, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, deceit, haughtiness, depravity, self-will, greediness, filthy talking, jealousy, over-confidence, loftiness, boastfulness; persecutors of the good, hating truth, loving a lie, not knowing a reward for righteousness, not cleaving to good nor to righteous judgment, watching not for that which is good, but for that which is evil; from whom meekness and endurance are far, loving vanities, persuing revenge, not pitying a poor man, not laboring for the afflicted, not knowing Him Who made them, murderers of children, destroyers of the handiwork of God, turning away from him who is in want, afflicting him who is distressed, advocates of the rich, lawless judges of the poor, utter sinners. Be delivered, children, from all these.

(From The Didache, The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations, Chapter 5: The Way of Death)

LONDON, July 21, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – After a five-year legal battle, a pro-life group in the United Kingdom has succeeded in obtaining detailed statistics about eugenic abortions from the UK’s Department of Health (DoH).
26 unborn babies in the last nine years have been killed for having cleft lip or palate.

The statistics reveal that thousands of babies have been killed for eugenic reasons, some of them (26 in the last nine years) for as minor a condition as cleft lip or palate, seven of them in 2010. These abortions were conducted under “Ground E,” the rule that allows any child at any gestational age to be killed whom doctors believe have a “substantial risk” of having a “serious” disability.

The UK’s Department of Health has refused since 2003 to reveal details about the eugenic abortions that are being committed in the country, arguing that the women involved could possibly be identified. However, the campaign group ProLife Alliance went to court in 2005 demanding that the figures be released. The High Court ruled against the department in April this year, but the figures were only released earlier this month.

In total, nearly 18,000 babies were aborted between 2002 and 2010 on the grounds of suspected disability. 1,189 were killed after the upper legal gestational age limit of 24 weeks. The figures show that these include 482 killed for Down’s syndrome in 2010 alone. In the same year, 181 abortions were attributed to musculoskeletal problems such as club foot, while 189 unborn children killed for anencephaly and 128 for spina bifida.

“The Pro-life Alliance is opposed to all abortion at any stage in pregnancy, but terminating the lives of babies at gestational ages when they could survive is always particularly horrifying,” said a spokesman for ProLife Alliance, Julia Millington.

“We have always argued that if these abortions are permitted under law, there should be no attempt whatsoever to hide details of the numbers or justifications.”

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Still, the Institute of Medicine is treating them as such. The ramifications of this, if the federal government follows their recommendation, will mean that you, simply by paying for your insurance, will be an abortion provider by default.

From CatholicCulture.org's latest news:

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston has denounced the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that the federal government require all private insurers to provide coverage for birth control and sterilization, without any co-payments on the part of the insured.

“I strongly oppose the Institute of Medicine's recommendation today that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate coverage of three particular practices in almost all private health plans: surgical sterilization; all FDA-approved birth control (including the IUD, ‘morning-after’ pills, and the abortion-inducing drug Ella); and ‘education and counseling’ promoting these among all ‘women of reproductive capacity,’” said the chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Pregnancy is not a disease, and fertility is not a pathological condition to be suppressed by any means technically possible,” the cardinal added. “The IOM report claims it would have good reason to recommend mandatory coverage for surgical abortions as well, if such a mandate were not prevented by law. But most Americans surely see that abortion is not healthy or therapeutic for unborn children, and has physical and mental health risks for women which can be extremely serious.”

Click here to read the rest of the press release. I don't know about anyone else, but I think this calls for some action...stay tuned.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Yes, you read that headline right. (I hope you've already read about this before in my post titled Senomyx: A Brand New Reason to Go Organic) Now Senomyx, a San Diego-based biomedical firm, is not just using the cells of aborted babies to develop flavor products that are found in processed foods, but is now hiding exactly who is using their Soylent Green.

Flavor company that uses embryo cells hides partner company names
by Kathleen Gilbert

LifeSiteNews.com) – A biomedical firm that uses fetal cell lines in flavor technology has removed from its website the names of organizations that use their products, according to the pro-life group Children of God for Life (COGFL).

Senomyx has been called out by the organization for using HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney) cells in the research and development of their artificial flavor enhancers, despite a pro-life consumer backlash.

Among Senomyx’s partnering companies is PepsiCo, which has been targeted for boycott based on its use of the flavor technology. In a recent response to customer letters, PepsiCo noted, “With respect to the flavor discovery research with Senomyx, we utilize techniques that have been the gold standard for several decades.”

COGFL responded, however, that the statement only further inflamed the public’s moral concerns.

“If this ‘gold standard’ is no big deal, then why are they trying so hard to hide the truth?” asked COGFL Executive Director, Debi Vinnedge. “PepsiCo and Senomyx have done everything in their power to trivialize what they are doing, when in fact what they are doing is only further damaging their public image.”

Thursday, July 14, 2011

And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.

And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Rv 12:1-5

We, the creation in God’s image, are the stars that twinkle in the sky; and the dragon destroys us with a swat of its tail. We are so attached to this world—to our things, our drugs, our sensations, our desires—and the more we get, the more we want. How can we hope rise with You to the throne of the Most High when the objects of our additions hold us in chains? It’s our queen, your mother, wearing the crown of total freedom from the chains of this world. She teaches us how to be free from the addictions that will destroy us—by never taking her eyes off of you.

BERLIN, Germany, July 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A controversial form of “pre-implantation” embryonic testing for genetic disorders was approved by German parliament last Thursday. Members of Parliament voted 326-260 in favor of the bill, with eight MPs abstaining.

Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) extracts up to two cells from a human embryo obtained through in vitro fertilization for testing for severe genetic disorders that could result in stillbirth or miscarriage. Such testing is a highly sensitive subject in Germany, where the memory of the atrocities committed in the name of eugenics under the Nazis remains fresh in the national consciousness.

The testing will only be permitted in cases where one or both of the parents have a history of serious genetic illness, and only after their case has been approved by an ethics panel. The testing is expected to be used in up to a few hundred cases yearly, according to AFP.

The German parliament took up the debate after a federal court ruled last year in favor of the testing. Many MPs expressed concern that the procedure would be used to obtain “designer babies.”

“Parents should not have to apologize if they do not have a so-called perfect baby,” said Deputy Wolfgang Zoeller of the conservative Christian Social Union.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the chairman of the Episcopal Conference, called the law “a violation of the principle of respecting human dignity.”

Wolfgang Thierse, of the opposition Social Democrats, also said the screening would “violate a person’s right to life.”

IVF critics point out that while the procedure produces its “miracle babies,” it is only through a process that results in the death of many human embryos.

Additionally, there are many concerns about the long-term health complications for IVF babies. Studies in the UK in recent years revealed that children conceived through IVF suffer from nearly twice as many health problems as those conceived naturally. Evidence also exists that IVF is more likely to cause birth defects and genetic abnormalities.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Th 4:16-17

A just reward for the greatest one among us. Even the angels sing her praises, for they know her perfection, and her worthiness of the greatest honor bestowed upon her by You, Lord Jesus, her most Holy Son. As our bodies and minds reel with pain in this process of letting go of our addictions, we look to her: your pure, sinless mother, and we begin to believe that the resurrection of the body is possible even for us. Now hope glimmers within us as suffer the pains of withdrawl.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Question: When a Catholic refuses to uphold Catholic teaching regardless the situation, should that person continue to call himself/herself a Catholic? To quote my friend Judi, "I can't know what's in a person's heart, but I can sure see his actions." Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is certainly acting like a hypocrite by publically going against an organization built by his own Church. CLICK HERE for the full story.

My favorite quote from the article is by Chicago Rep. Greg Harris:

“They’re totally within their rights to determine who can or cannot be married under their church law or who can be married by a priest or rabbi or in their facilities, but this is different...But here, they’re coming to the state to get contracts to provide government services on behalf of the state. They can’t pick and choose which Illinoisans they think are worthy of those services. (emphasis mine)"

Can you also see the flaw in his argument here?

I thought it was the children who were receiving services, Rep. Harris, not homosexual couples. Since it's your government deciding to cancel the contracts, wouldn't it, therefore, be your government determining who is worthy of the services Catholic Charities provides in your state?

Monday, July 11, 2011

And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And Peter said to them: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, every one whom the Lord our God calls to him." And he testified with many other words and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Acts 2:2-5, 38-41

As the Spirit descends upon us, so many things about ourselves become clear—how easily we rationalize and lie, not just to others, but to ourselves; the depth of our denial, and our need for repentance. Now more than ever we depend on Your Spirit to guide us from the pitfalls of denial and rationalization; to give us the strength to break the habit of self-deception that keeps us from hearing your call upon our hearts.

Friday, July 8, 2011

So when they had come together, they asked [Jesus], "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama'ria and to the end of the earth."

And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:6-11

We stand here exposed, stripped of our addictions, unable to tear our eyes from you as you return to heaven. If we look away from You will we fall back into the pit? Our willpower wavers, uncertainty creeps into our minds, despair breathes down our necks; still we wait. We trust in You. We trust in You, Jesus, in your promise to send the Holy Spirit to come upon us and lead us away from the edge of the cliff.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

[O]n the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body.

While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise."

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Lk 24:1-9

Through Your resurrection, Jesus, you teach us that life itself transcends the confines of even the tomb.Through Your resurrection, You conquered death. You alone have the power to roll away the stone of addiction that entombs us.

Now, as Your light pours in we feel Your warmth like never before, and can see clearly the path before us. We now want to live, and You are the only source of life. Only now do we begin to understand ourselves--that our desires and addictions will never satisfy us, because our true desire, the desire that burns in the soul, can only be satisfied by You.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Just as Jesus carried the cross to His death for our salvation, we, in imitation of Him, carry the guilt of addiction for addicts, because in their illness they cannot carry it themselves.

Introductory Meditation

A reading from the Gospel according to John.

Mary Magdalene stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."

Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?"

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jn 20:11-15

Sometimes everything appears hopeless. Sometimes we lose our ability to see truth, to see reality—to see anything. Before we know it, we become distorted by the conventions of a world that no longer recognizes You; we can’t see Your hand reaching out to us from inside our darkness. We forget that it was You who spoke light into being, and You who breathed life into all mankind.

Open our eyes to Your light; illuminate our minds and our hearts with Your truth, and breathe life into us once again; give us both the knowledge and the courage to break the cycle of addiction that prevents us from living a life of freedom and peace.

Please pray an Apostle's Creed, an Our Father, three Hail Marys and a Glory Be.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

If you clicked this headline looking for a story about someone's recently exposed behavior, look elsewhere (and shame on you). In an age where we're becoming more and more immune to the drinking, drugging, cheating, stealing, philandering, backstabbing, partying, and the ever-increasing shamelessness of the general population, I think we all need a bit of a reality check.

Catholics especially need to check themselves, and stop themselves from participating in the spreading of dirt and the smearing of our brothers and sisters who are suffering and need prayer. To quote our Lord, "you who is without sin cast the first stone."

Some time ago, my husband and I were hit by a series of tragedies brought on by the horror that is addiction. Finding a book titled Addiction and Grace by the late Dr. Gerald May was a true Godsend for us, and a real eye-opener. I recommend it highly. Dr. May defined addiction as "any compulsive, habitual behavior that limits the freedom of human desire". According to Dr. May, no human being is above being addicted, everyone is addicted to something, and no one addiction or addict is any better or worse than another. Every human being struggles with compulsions, aversions, dependencies of all kinds, and every one blocks us to the grace of God.

I have a gazillion addictions, compulsions and aversions that interfere with my life of grace every minute of every day. Thank God that no one finds me important enough to smear me based on them, either, because I could very easily be portrayed as a hot mess. Mine may not be drugs or alcohol, but I have to fight them as hard as any drug addict or alcoholic must fight theirs.

Sometimes we all lose our fights, don't we?

In his book, Dr. May listed five fundamental characteristics of all forms and types of addiction:

Self-deception: denial and rationalization, invented to counter attempts to control the addiction.

Loss of willpower: an inability to conquer the addiction despite the illusion of control.

Distortion of attention: a preoccupation with the addiction that usurps our concern for the true priorities of life, especially God. For this reason, addiction can be viewed as idolatry.

St. Paul writes in Galatians Chapter 6: “even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:1-2) Just as He carried the cross to His death for our salvation, we in imitation of Him can carry the guilt of addiction for these addicts, because in their illness they cannot carry it themselves.

Over the next several days I will be posting a special Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary that I wrote for my friend who lost her son to heroin addiction. I hope you will all join me in prayer for everyone who suffers as a result of their addictions.

Friday, July 1, 2011

...and it applies to every human being, regardless your job, social status or other station in life. Yes, it even applies to the president.

Only a few moments ago I read an Associated Press article by Stephen Ohlemacher titled Obama picks fight on taxes, big or just symbolic. Actually, I only read until this paragraph:

"If we choose to keep those tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, if we choose to keep a tax break for corporate jet owners, if we choose to keep tax breaks for oil and natural gas companies that are making hundreds of billions of dollars," Obama said this week, "then that means we've got to cut some kids off from getting a college scholarship, that means we've got to stop funding certain grants for medical research, that means that food safety may be compromised, that means that Medicare has to bear a greater part of the burden."

Set aside the partisan political rhetoric for a moment. Reread that paragraph, particularly the statement following then.

Do you see it? It should jump off the page at you.

If not, allow me paraphrase what the President of the United States is saying here: If you don't do things the way I want them done, American citizens will have to suffer.

Extort: to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power. (www.m-w.com. Underscore mine.)

Keep something in mind: the US government is "non-productive", meaning it does not produce or sell a product in order to gain revenue; it must raise funds by either borrowing it or by levying taxes upon its citizens, directly or indirectly. Roughly 75% of the $4.5 trillion in revenue raised by the federal government of the United States is through taxes.

Let this number sink in as well: $3.75 trillion. That's how much the federal government collects in taxes. That's right, $3.75 TRILLION. If this amount were divided equally among the citizens of the US, we're talking roughly $12,000 per citizen, per year. Of course this is not how it really works, as many Americans pay far more than this; but the general principals I'm illustrating here would still apply, so just humor me for the sake of the exercise.

Think about what you could do with $12,000 per year. Catch up on your mortgage payment? Pay for your child's college tuition? Pay off a loan?

Donate it to charity? Feed the hungry, maybe?

Now think about this: this president just threatened to basically extort his nation's citizens, those same citizens that hand over their homes, their children's futures, their good credit, and so many other things that they're forced to sacrifice, because the federal government can't seem to make it on $4.5 TRILLION.

“Can there be any doubt that Almighty God will, in His own time and way, pass judgment upon our state, its leaders and citizens, for abandoning His commands and embracing public immorality?” --Bishop Thomas Tobin